Signs Of Heaven

One of the horrors of the Civil War is the tragic story of the Confederate prison camp at Andersonville Georgia.

And yet, there was a silver lining to that dark chapter of American history.

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Over 30,000 Union soldiers were crammed into 26 acres, beginning in February of 1864.

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Magot-infested food, drinking water so polluted, that it was a death sentence to drink.

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Barely enough space to lay down to sleep, and a heartless monster named Wertz as the camp’s commander!

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At one point, a hundred men per day died from diseased water, scurvy, pestilence, starvation, murder, and even suicide, etc…

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One day in August, a soldier couldn’t take it any longer. He purposely walked across the forbidden “deadline” and was immediately gunned down by guards.

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Whenever it rained, the prisoners used hats to catch the rainwater, and wrung out their wet clothes to drink.

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The deadly polluted water crisis was so bad that numerous attempts were made to dig wells, using spoons.

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Upon witnessing this, a fellow soldier named William suicide Reddenhill was so moved by that suicide, that he organized a group of men to cry out for God’s mercy.

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Forty minutes passed, and a dark, ominous thundercloud appeared in the shape of a tall mountain.

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Rain began to pour down upon the camp, washing clean that filthy infested camp. And suddenly, the camp was shook by a bolt of lightning, striking within the dead-line. And to everyone’s amazement, the ground where the lightning struck, opened up a spring of water,  which gushed out about ten gallons per minute with fresh, clean spring water!

An so, those prisoners finally had fresh drinking water until the end of the war!

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They appropriately named that spring “Providence spring”, rightly attributing it as an act of God’s merciful answer to their prayers. Years later, some of the surviving soldiers returned to build a memorial around the spring. And to this day “Providence Spring” still flows out of that memorial, as a testimony to God’s care and mercy.

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And yet, the world wonders why a good God allows such suffering.

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But the Bible provides the answer in a number of places. For example, Lamentations Chapter 3 informs us…”

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Yes, God has allowed this rebellious planet to play out the results of our selfish ways. But even though it deeply grieves Him to witness mankind’s suffering, He allows these results to continue, in hope that we will turn from our rebellious ways, and return to the loving ways of Heaven.

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